Horticulture/Seed Banking

Seed Banking refers to populations of seeds in the soil over long periods, primarily applied to weeds. Many weeds create seed banks, which allow them to germinate even if the previous year's plants did not have an opportunity to set seeds.

What can be done

1. Prevent weeds from going to seed. Though this will not affect the seeds already in the soil, it will help prevent the problem from getting any worse, and eventually will run the seed bank down (as most seeds are not immortal, even though they might seem that way).
2. Mulching in late winter or early spring will keep seeds from being exposed to light, which is the most common metabolic signal for germination.
3. "Stale beds" can be created by repeated tilling or other methods of cultivation
4. Pre-emergent herbicides can prevent the germination of many weed seeds .